Sentencing delayed for Dutch man convicted of extorting B.C. teen after prosecutor contracts COVID-19

UPDATE 10:22 a.m. PT: The sentencing hearing for Aydin Coban has been adjourned to Oct. 11 because the prosecutor on the case tested positive forCOVID-19 on Tuesday morning.

EARLIER STORY:

A sentencing hearing is expected begin Tuesday for a Dutch man found guilty of harassing and extorting British Columbia teenager Amanda Todd in the years before her suicide.

A B.C. Supreme Court jury convicted AydinCobanlast month of extortion, harassment, communication with a young person to commit a sexual offence and possession and distribution of child pornography.

Crown prosecutor Louise Kenworthy told the jury before it began deliberations that a "treasure trove of information'' connected Cobanto Todd's harassment, including information found on two hard drives seized from his home.

WATCH | Carol Todd shares her hopes for Aydin Coban's sentencing which is scheduled to resume in October:

Carol Todd speaks outside courthouse

2 years ago

Duration 0:46

Carol Todd shares her hopes for Aydin Coban's sentencing which is scheduled to resume in October.

Todd's mother, Carol Todd, has said she will deliver a victim impact statement during the sentencing hearing, which is expected to last until the end of the week.

Todd was 15 when she died by suicide in October 2012, not long after posting a video on YouTube that described her being tormented by an online harasser.

She used flash cards to recount her ordeal in the video that's since been viewed by millions, shining a light on the harms of online harassment and cyberbullying.

Cobanwas not charged in relation to Todd's death.

BeforeCobanwas extradited, a Dutch court sentenced him to almost 11 years in prison for similar online offences following a trial in Amsterdam in 2017, where he was accused in the online abuse of 34 girls and five men.

That court heardCoban, who is in his mid-40s, pretended to be a boy or girl and persuaded his victims to perform sexual acts in front of a web camera, then posted the images online or blackmailed them by threatening to do so.

He was convicted of fraud and internet blackmail and given the maximum sentence for what Dutch legal authorities described as "the devastating consequences of his behaviour'' on the lives of his victims.